WORLD’S SMALLEST MULTIMEDIA PDA-PHONE

Written by Adam Gosling

Thursday, 10 November 2005

O2 claims its Xda Atom is the smallest multimedia PDA-phone on the market. Sleek piano-black finish, 2 megapixel camera with flash, PDA functionality, FM radio tuner and you can even make phone calls with it: the Xda weighs in at a mere 140 grams and is small by comparison to other PDA/phones. Measuring only 58 (W) x 102 (L) x 18.5 (T) mm, O2 describes the Xda Atom as “small and mighty”. Available from December 7 at an RRP of $1,229 the phone features a new multimedia interface from O2. O2 MediaPlus was designed specifically by O2 for PDA-phones and works as a one-stop multimedia centre that allows users to launch and control various multimedia features on the Xda Atom from one interface. It has equaliser settings for playback on Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, playlists, you can customise the interface and play downloaded movie clips and imported MP3s or listen to FM radio or music files on the built-in stereo speakers or Bluetooth stereo headsets.  Photos and videos come to life on the large 2.7 inch, 262K-colour QVGA touch-screen TFT-LCD. It’s not all fun and games though, this is the first O2 device running Microsoft’s latest release Windows Mobile 5.0 which offers enhanced features in Microsoft Office programs for Windows Mobile including Word Mobile, Excel Mobile and the new Powerpoint Viewer.  Users can get direct access to Hotmail and POP3 accounts from Microsoft Outlook.  Accessing the Internet or transferring data has never been easier with a large number of connectivity options such as built-in Wireless LAN, EDGE GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth v1.2, Infrared, mini-USB and ActiveSync. John Featherstone, Vice President of O2 Oceania said: “O2 has a mobile device for every customer’s needs - mobile productivity, messaging and multimedia.  This reflects our commitment toward designing and marketing devices that are desirable, full-featured and easy to use. It furthers our promise of offering greater convenience to our users. ”With its rich multimedia features and O2 MediaPlus application, this one-of-a-kind device will appeal to users who are looking for a single mobile handheld that attends to all their lifestyle needs. The Xda Atom will further O2’s technological and product leadership.” Calum Russell, Mobility Business Group Manager, Microsoft Australia said, “As one of the first devices running on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, the Xda Atom gives users the flexibility of email and information any where at any time. “When the work day is over, the Xda Atom delivers users great entertainment by integrating Windows Media Player 10 Mobile,” said Russell. Top help users keep their Atom in optimum condition the company has also included Self Diagnostics and Auto Configurator applications which offer step-by-step guides for testing and detecting malfunctions, while the Auto Configurator is great for travellers detecting operator settings on individual SIM cards and configuring the device accordingly. The Xda Atom is distributed by Ingram Micro and Brightpoint Australia and available through Harvey Norman, Harris Technology plus all the major IT and phone distributors and retail outlets. www.seeO2.com Related news items Next-Gen 3G RAZR DownUnder -24/09/2007 Nokia E51: Smarter Than It Looks -19/09/2007 Semi-Rugged With Grunt -05/09/2007 Mobile Speakerphone From Jabra -30/08/2007 Australian Idol Live On Next G -19/08/2007 Newer news items Hard Times Are The Only Increase For PDA Makers -07/08/2006 O2 Beefs Up XDA Atom For Business Users -28/06/2006 Acer Plans PDA Phone, GPS Devices -04/06/2006 BlackBerry Shows Its Fun Side -09/05/2006 PDAs CONTINUE DECLINE: IDC -05/02/2006 Older news items COLOUR YOUR PALM FOR $179 -12/10/2005 LIMITED EDITION JAM -01/08/2005 PALM BACKDATES NAME: UPDATES LOGO -14/07/2005 PDA SALES HAVE DISASTER QUARTER -16/06/2005 VERSATILE PDA PHONE CAN DRIVE BUSINESS -09/06/2005 Tag This Now: